There’s no sugar coating it — the Dallas Stars deserved to lose last night:
“We lost our team play,” Stars interim coach Rick Bowness said. “We lost our intensity and we lost our focus. When you do that, a team like that is going to make you look real bad, which they did.”
As would be expected, the Stars are frustrated after such an embarrassing loss that put them down 2-1 in the series. But there’s also a strange calmness in the air, as if they’re not worried heading into Game 4:
“We’ve got a lot of veteran guys that have been through a lot,” Jason Dickinson said. “If we can draw from those experiences and those situations and reflect on it and say ‘Hey, we can respond. We’ve got the guys in here that can do it,’ we’ll be fine.”
You can read more from Mike Heika here.
Stars Stories
Again, the Stars are calm. Calm and confident:
John Klingberg with a confident statement: “We’re going to even the series on Friday.”
— Taylor Baird (@taylordbaird) September 24, 2020
Sean Shapiro offers his 20 cents from last night’s game:
Tampa’s top players showed up, big. The Stars did not. The good news? It was only Game 3. The 20/20 from Wednesday https://t.co/A3puw4R22t
— Sean Shapiro (@seanshapiro) September 24, 2020
For those of you who are ready to move on from Game 3, here’s an insightful piece by on how COVID-19 has impacted the normal financial windfall associated with deep Stanley Cup runs:
From @DomDiFurio, What is the Dallas Stars’ Stanley Cup Final run worth in a pandemic? https://t.co/cObvf2CEvM
— Matthew DeFranks (@MDeFranks) September 24, 2020
And here’s a story on Blake Coleman, who is now competing for a Stanley Cup against his childhood team:
In 1999 he stayed up past his bedtime and listened to the radio as Brett Hull scored in OT. Now as Plano’s Blake Coleman faces Stars in Stanley Cup, either way, Texas wins. https://t.co/0NHjEA5cSb
— Sean Shapiro (@seanshapiro) September 23, 2020
Around the League
Alex Pietrangelo is one of the top (if not the top) free agents this year. So where might he end up?
Which landing spots are most realistic for UFA Alex Pietrangelo?
Senior writer Matt Larkin breaks down the top five rumored suitors:https://t.co/CRCKiFD4Pc
— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) September 23, 2020
Who are some of the more polarizing 2020 NHL Draft prospects? Corey Pronman offers up some names:
To draft or not to draft? The same player can be evaluated very differently across the scouting community. @coreypronman takes a look at the NHL Draft prospects who cause the biggest divides among scouts ⤵️https://t.co/HL6em1fjXo
— The Athletic NHL (@TheAthleticNHL) September 24, 2020
This trade between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Florida Panthers hasn’t happened yet, but keep your eye out:
** Breaking News**
As per what I’m told – the @penguins are trading F Patric Hornqvist to @FlaPanthers in exchange for D Mike Matheson. @NHL @NHLNetwork .
🏒🥅📺🎥🎙📡🌍.— Kevin Weekes (@KevinWeekes) September 23, 2020
I’m told there’s a “glitch” with the FLA/PIT trade. It was definitely in progress. We will see if it gets worked out.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) September 23, 2020
Breaking news: fans who constantly complain about the NHL not promoting it’s non-traditional markets stop watching hockey games when they’re between non-traditional markets:
With lots of competition, TV ratings for the Stanley Cup Final struggle | @SeanFitz_Gerald ⤵️https://t.co/F9FkMKkgmM
— The Athletic NHL (@TheAthleticNHL) September 24, 2020